Arsenal have waited too long for a shot at the Premier League title to let a fairytale get in the way of their dreams.
Aston Villa had turned up in north London on Tuesday night on the back of a surge of victories that has revived memories of Leicester City‘s miracle Premier League triumph a decade ago.
But they left with their ambitions shattered and their 11-game winning run brought to a brutal end by an Arsenal side that survived a difficult first half and then crushed their opponents.
Arsenal’s emphatic 4-1 victory put them five points clear at the top of the table and six points clear of a third-placed Villa team for whom Ollie Watkins missed a gilt-edged first-half chance.
Watched by Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown, two members of the Invincibles side that won Arsenal’s last league title, without losing a match, in 2003-04, Arsenal took a significant psychological step towards the title with this victory in the biggest game of the season so far.
This was vindication for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after many seemed to expect his side to crumble at the first sign of pressure but who survived the absence of Declan Rice in style.
Arsenal reasserted their dominance in the title race with a emphatic 4-1 win rivals Aston Villa
Centre back Gabriel (right) opened the scoring on 48 minutes on Tuesday night
Mikel Arteta has plenty to smile about as his Arsenal side sit top of the Premier League table
And it was a chastening defeat for Unai Emery, who was the manager here before Arteta only to be sacked after 18 months. His hopes of masterminding a critical victory over his former club were dashed.
It was also a difficult night for Emiliano Martinez, Villa’s keeper, and another returning old boy. Martinez set himself up as the villain of the night, taunting Arsenal’s fans with delaying tactics, but all he was doing was setting himself up for a fall.
After Villa had the better of the first half, a bad mistake from Martinez at an Arsenal corner allowed Gabriel to open the scoring early in the second half, and Villa never recovered. Martin Zubimendi scored a second four minutes later and Arsenal were home free.
Leandro Trossard got a fine third and substitute Gabriel Jesus grabbed a fourth to put the pressure back on Manchester City, who travel to Sunderland on New Year’s Day knowing that they have to win to keep the pressure on the Gunners.
Everyone is expecting Arsenal to bottle it, everyone is expecting them to crack but, so far, they are stubbornly refusing to do so. This was a powerful statement of intent.
Arsenal suffered a blow before kick-off when Rice, who has been their best player this season and has established himself as a world class midfielder, was ruled out with a knee injury sustained against Brighton at the weekend.
But if this Arsenal side has proved anything this season, it is that the club finally has a squad that can cope with losing its best players. As if to emphasise that, Gabriel was back in the starting line-up for the first time since November 8. Arsenal have missed him but others stepped up.
And so even if Rice was missing, Arteta’s side could still boast a midfield of Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino. Arsenal have moved beyond the point where they are overly reliant on one player.
Martin Zubimendi (centre) doubled Arsenal’s lead with this close-range effort at the Emirates
Leandro Trossard roars with delight after scoring the Gunners third goal against Aston Villa
Gabriel Jesus continued his comeback from an ACL injury by getting on the scoresheet late on
Martinez, another returning Arsenal old boy, raised tensions in the opening seconds of the game when he took exception to the way an Arsenal ballboy had thrown the ball back to him and began gesticulating towards the referee, suggesting he should deal with it.
Martinez was booed lustily and he seemed to revel in being anointed the villain. He delayed every goal kick to the last possible moment before the referee would feel forced to intervene. His tactics worked the Arsenal fans into a fury.
They had other things to worry about, too. Villa began to threaten their goal. Amadou Onana made a fine break from his own half before cutting in to the box and losing his footing at the critical moment.
Villa should have taken the lead after 13 minutes. Viktor Gyokeres was dispossessed way too easily by Ezri Konsa, who strode forward and slid a clever pass into Watkins. Watkins took the ball on his right foot but mishit his shot horribly and it dribbled apologetically wide.
Arsenal knew they had had a fortunate escape but they were missing Rice. Time and again, Villa broke through the heart of their midfield and found gaping open spaces to stride into. It felt as if Arsenal had lost their anchor.
Gradually, they regained a measure of control and Leandro Trossard, who had been their most dangerous attacker, cut inside Jadon Sancho on the Villa right and curled in a cross for Gyokeres. Gyokeres got in front of his man and hurled himself at the ball but he directed his header just wide.
Ollie Watkins pulled one back in second-half stoppage time but was guilty of missing chances
Two minutes after the break, though, Arsenal took the lead. Bukayo Saka swung a corner over from the right and Gabriel leapt with Martinez to contest the ball. Martinez, distracted by his wrestling match with the Arsenal centre back, tried to catch it but made a dreadful hash of it. The ball hit Gabriel, rolled down his leg and bounced over the line. Villa claimed a foul but it was just weak goalkeeping.
Four minutes later, Arsenal doubled their lead. If the first goal was untidy, this was clinical. Odegaard won the ball midway inside the Villa half and advanced on goal before playing a brilliant, perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Zubimendi. Zubimendi got to it ahead of Martinez and lifted it deftly over the keeper’s outstretched leg and into the corner of the net.
Twenty minutes from time, Arsenal put the game out of reach. Odegaard swung a cross in from the left, Villa failed to clear it and when the ball fell to Trossard on the edge of the box, he swept it past the motionless Martinez.
Arsenal turned the game into a rout when Gabriel Jesus grabbed the fourth seconds after coming on as a late substitute and even though Watkins grabbed a late goal, it was no consolation for a Villa side whose title pretensions had been exposed.
